Joe Ortiz' THE END TIMES PASSOVER! This is one of Joe's blog sites which is the title to one of his books that refute the Rapture to Heaven mythology. Ours is "Empowerment" theology, Not "Replacement" ~
The Old Testament church was not to be replaced, but it would be embolden. (Matthew 16:18; Isa. 49:13-23; 60:1 4). "Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar, (Proverbs 30:5-6)."

Saturday, December 26, 2015

As we have said throughout our book (The End Times
Passover) our approach to Bible studies and all issues concerning theological
matters has always been to secure the deepest reading of Bible words to get the
most accurate meaning. We have done this by translating the words in each verse
in question rather than interpreting them. We believe that God did not make any
mistakes in the exact verbiage He used to inspire the writers to record His
message to us; however, throughout history, many of those words were altered to
a certain degree by the translator’s perception of what that specific word
means rather than by the exactitude required to define the truest meaning God
intended for each word He spoke to the writer.

I’m certain we could spend days debating this subject
matter because opinions galore are proffered by many, especially when they
insist the exegesis they apply is more accurate. Then, there are also those who
argue that the word of God should be read and studied in a literal manner,
rather than realizing there are many other applications that should be taken
under consideration including symbolism, metaphor and figures of speech.
Scholars of days gone by have attempted to understand the word of God through various
sciences and applications and have still been at a loss to nail down the true
and extant word of God. After reading over a thousand books and commentaries,
as well as having handy both Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries, lexicons and
concordances, our approach has been to define the words in question not by
other people’s opinions, but by the deepest meaning of each word, and how that
same (Greek or Hebrew) word was used in other sentences. For example, such
English words as ‘forgive,
forgiven allow, leave, suffer and left’ conjure up certain meanings when we
read them, yet each one of these words in the original manuscript uses the
Greek word "aphieimi"
to define it. Therefore (for example)
when we read say Luke 17:34-37, where the word “left” is used twice, most theorists
claim that the word “left” is describing
those sinners “left” behind during the so-called “Rapture to Heaven” polemic
that has been used for the last 50 years or so by Premillennial
Dispensationlists. If we are to trust the exact meaning of how a word was
translated rather than how the word was interpreted by theorists we are more
inclined to accept their theory that it is sinners who are left behind.
However, if we trust how the word was in fact translated, there can be no doubt
whatsoever that the word “left” in this specific word is describing a group of
people who are to be “forgiven,” who need to be “left” alone, who are “allowed”
to be free, “permit, release, paid for, accord, etc.

We want to provide the reader a bold example of the
process we used to best define a particular word in a specific verse in order
to extract the most definitive meaning. If you will quickly turn to your Bible
to Luke 17:34-37, in this group of scripture you will find the word “left” used
three different times. Many authors and Bible teachers/evangelists/pastors use
this group of scripture to confirm various theories, the most popular one is
that which is promoted by most premillennialists who claim it is describing a
picture of Christians being “taken” to Heaven at the Rapture and that those who
“left” behind will suffer God’s wrath. The irony of these theories is that the
word “left” is defined in the Greek by the word “aphiemi” which means
“forgive.” A passage of scripture that confirms this meaning is found in Matthew 6:12where we see the Greek word “aphiemi” is used to define the word
“forgive” as it is used twice in the Lord’s Prayer. Why the original
translators chose not to use the word “forgive” to define the word “left” in
Luke 17:34-37 is interesting, especially when the intent of what God is saying
is confirmed by three of the sentences in this particular group of scripture.

LUKE 17:34

First of all, the reader needs to examine the original manuscript (see above or at least
query a concordance to see what word is used in verses 34, 35 and 36) by a
variety of authors. Tim LaHaye being the most well known chose to use the word
“left” to describe the people who will not be caught up to Heaven in order to
confirm they will be left behind to suffer God’s wrath. Instead of digging
deeper into the word “left” to see that it more accurately describes the word
to “forgive,” he and other theorists use these three verses (34, 35 and 36) to convey their
claims that Christians will be taken to Heaven while unbelievers will be left behind. Another interesting aspect
of the three usages of the word “left” in this group of scripture is that the
word “behind” (after the word “left”, as LaHaye uses in his Left Behind books) cannot be found in the
original manuscript. More convincingly is the fact that by virtue of what we
read for an answer as to where these entities will be taken is obvious by what
we read in verse 37: “37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them,
‘Where so ever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.’ ”
Verse 37 most certainly does not sound like any location the Christian would like
be taken to.

CONCERNING THE MEETING IN THE AIR WITH JESUS! WHAT
EXACTLY DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY ABOUT THIS?

Most Christians believe the
Bible teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that Jesus will step out of His
glorious abode in Heaven, and will secretly (unbeknown to anyone except
Christians) and secretly scoop up all believers and take them to Heaven to
avoid a seven-year period of great persecution by anti-Christian forces:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them
which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which
are asleep.

16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words, (1 Thessalonians
4:13-18).

First
of all let us dispel the notion of “secrecy” by virtue of what we read in verse
16 that the event will be preceded by the voice of the archangel and God’s
trumpet. It’s obvious this event will be loud enough to wake the dead,
those who shall first rise (resurrected). Those who are alive at that instant
will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Notice careful that there is
nothing in this group of scriptures that conveys or infers that those who are
caught up in the air are taken to back to Heaven. Most people assume this
because most preachers and teachers teach their respective flock
that this is the case. The key word to understand what is truly being
conveyed in this group of scripture is the word “meet” and what that entails.

We looked into
one of several Greek Dictionaries we often use (Vine's Expository Dictionary of
New Testament Words) and examined the word “meet” and discover it is used only
four times in the entire Bible. It is found twice in Matthew 25 (verses 1 and
6) where we see the discussion about the ten virgins, of which five wise ones
went forth to meet the bridegroom and escorted Him back into the wedding
banquet. A myriad of theorists use these two verses to pad their claim
it is speaking of the church being caught up to ‘meet’ the Lord in the air and
then being taken to Heaven to avoid seven years of great tribulation. It
boggles the mind how theorists attempt to use these groups of scripture to
convey anyone is taken to heaven when the word of God accurately states the
five virgins went out to meet the bridegroom and escorted Him back into the
wedding banquet. It does not state the five virgins were caught up to meet Him
in the air and were then whisked to Heaven. To best understand what truly
happens here is to dig deeper into the actual meaning of the word “meet” which
tells us what really happens.

The Greek word
to define “meet” is the noun, apantesis:
"a meeting" which occurs in Matt. 25:6; Acts 28:15; 1 Thess. 4:17. It
is used in the papyri of a newly arriving magistrate. "It seems that the special idea of the word was the official
welcome of a newly arrived dignitary, (Moulton, Greek Test. Gram. Vol.
I, p. 14).”

What the word “meet” is telling us is that those who are caught up to meet the
Lord in the air is really a picture of a group of people who are caught up in
the air to attend a meeting and will actually welcome the Lord Jesus Christ, and escort Him home to earth where He will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for an
eternity!

Review the four
times the word “meet” is used in the Bible in the graph below:

The best example the
author can use as to what the word apantesis
truly conveys in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and the
other scripture just cited, is comparable to when a group of people gather
together at an airport to greet a visiting dignitary. Whenever the President of
the United States or the Queen of England visits each other’s country, you will
always find a welcoming committee comprised of very special people. You might also
find some people standing behind the fence trying to get a glimpse of the
dignitaries, but only the “chosen ones” are allowed “to meet” with the VIPs,
and thereby, share in the glory of the arriving royalty. Therein lays the
reason why there cannot be a secret ‘snatching up’ of any believers solely to
return to heaven, anywhere from three and a half to seven years. This is so
because the returning Christ wants the whole world to see that those who
believe in Him will be rewarded for their faith, patience and trust, and
consequently will share in His Glory! A beautiful example of this truth is
found in Colossians 3:4 which states, “When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in
glory.” In Philippians 3:20, it
explicitly tells us that although our citizenship is in heaven, the verse goes
on to state that, we
eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that
enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly
bodies so that they will be like His glorious body, (Philippians 3:20, 21, NIV).

Most Christians have been indoctrinated to believe that 1 Thessalonians 4:17
includes the church being caught up to have a meeting with the Lord and
immediately Jesus turns around and heads back to Heaven. Most folks perceive
the following verse (“And so we will be with the Lordforever);” is supposed to confirm their belief.
However, that verse does not specify this is the case; but yet believers arrive
at that conclusion based on the incessant pounding of such a theory by
evangelists, preachers and scholars who have decided to fill in that blank
assumption, an inference that is derived based on a verse that is silent as to
what follows. Yes, it does say we will be with the Lord forever, but it does
not state specifically where. Most dispensationalists believe that this
particular verse is speaking solely about the (secret) Rapture and not the 2nd
Advent of Christ, that they conjure up and insert in their imagination that 1
Thessalonians 4:17 speaks about a special Rapture to Heaven (and a subsequent
return to earth 1000 years later), followed by Christ’s return with those that
were supposedly raptured one thousand years earlier. But they don't provide scripture to back their contention.

This theory begs a more
definitive explanation of what transpires during those 1000 years, and what role
the church played during that long span of time that has no scripture verse to
validate such a claim. Are the saints in Heaven for 1000 literal years, or do
they shuttle back and forth to earth to help Christ administer His Millennial
reign on earth. There is no scripture to support such folly, and no scripture that explains what is the purpose for a 1000 literal year period of time. In our book The End Times Passover, we provide explicit informations, facts and Bible details that explains this truth in great detail.For more information about our books, web sites and blogs, please click in Joe Ortiz

Thursday, December 24, 2015

As my readers know, 1830 was a big year! That's when 15-year-old Margaret Macdonald in Scotland was the first person ever to "see" a pretrib rapture in the Bible. And all of my writings show that London preacher Edward Irving and his followers, as well as Margaret, clearly taught pretrib earlier than John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren who has repeatedly - and wrongfully - been viewed as the "father of pretrib dispensationalism."
It's true that Margaret was first when she said "the one taken and the other left" happens BEFORE "THE WICKED" (Antichrist) is revealed. To try to claim that their hero Darby should get credit for pretrib, Darby idolizers like LaHaye, Ice, Lindsey (and more recently British scholar Paul Wilkinson) either distort what Margaret was saying or (much worse) deliberately omit quoting either the first (rapture) half of her main point or the last (tribulation) half.
But pretrib muddying up of Margaret hasn't kept many top scholars from endorsing my research "kernel." Here are just two examples: My first book "The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin" (1973) received undeserved kudos from "The Witness" (the oldest and largest Darbyist Brethren magazine in England) in April 1974:
"What [MacPherson] succeeds in establishing is that the [pretrib] view outlined was first stated by a certain Margaret Macdonald...early in 1830."
Later on world-class Australian scholar Dr. F. Nigel Lee (with 9 earned doctorates!) stated: "Dave MacPherson, in his various books, has made a major contribution toward vindicating Historic Christian Eschatology. The 1830 innovations of the disturbed Margaret Macdonald documented by MacPherson - in part or in whole - immediately spread to Edward Irving and his followers, then to J. N. Darby and Plymouth Brethrenism, and were later popularized by the dispensationalistic Scofield Reference Bible, by Classic Pentecostalism, and by latter-day pretribulationists like J. F. Walvoord and Hal Lindsey."
True, Margaret's short 117-line "revelation" account is confessedly not as clear as Irving's quarterly journal "The Morning Watch" (hereafter "TMW," published from 1829-1833, a total of 3993 pages), so for the sake of argument: LET'S FORGET MARGARET MACDONALD!
Let's forget Margaret for a while and see if at least Irving and his group taught pretrib before "father" Darby did. Right now let's look briefly at the earliest "rapture" development of the Irvingites and the Darbyist Brethren during the contested period stretching from 1827 to 1839:
1827: A few, including John Bray, have claimed that Darby believed in pretrib this early. But Darby's first two papers (1827 and 1828) discussed only the "heavenly church" and the "church's unity" - and Darby then looked for only the posttrib "restitution" and "refreshing" in Acts 3. (I invite all to Google "Is John Bray a PINO?")
1829: Darby's first paper focusing on prophecy. He expected only the Rev. 19 coming. And he showed Irvingite influence. He mentioned "Mr. Irving" five times, "Ben-Ezra" (Lacunza) once, and "Morning Watch" twice. Darby said he was an avid reader of Irving's works and journal and heard Irving preach. (My "Rapture Plot" discusses Darby on 145 pages.)
1830: Margaret had her pretrib revelation in the spring. TMW (Sep.) reflected her pretrib partial rapturism (church/church dichotomy) and saw worthy "Philadelphia" raptured before "the great tribulation" and less worthy "Laodicea" left behind. Darby was still defending posttrib historicism in Dec. in the "Christian Herald" and waiting for only Matt. 25's "judging of the nations." (Darby discusses TMW four times in his 1830 paper and five times in an 1831 letter. And from 1830 to 1833 TMW repeatedly taught pretrib and any-moment imminence while Darby was still defending the posttrib view, as my "Rapture Plot" book portrays.)
1832: Darby still doesn't believe in a future Antichrist but only in "present antichristian principles."
1834: We find Darby and the Jews waiting for the same day (Heb. 10:37).
1837: Darby saw the church "going in with Him to the marriage [Rev. 19], to wit, with Jerusalem and the Jews"!
1839: Darby's first clear pretrib teaching. His pretrib symbol was Rev. 12:5's "man child" caught up before a 3.5-year tribulation - but Darby didn't admit that it had been Irving's pretrib symbol in 1831 in TMW!
If you'd like to see 300 pages of documented evidence for all of the above and many more shocks, found while my wife and I were snooping inside libraries throughout Scotland and England, you can obtain my most important book "The Rapture Plot" by calling 800.643.4645. (Tell 'em Dave and Joe sent you.) The Joe I just mentioned is our good friend Joe Ortiz. If you want to see his "out of this world" refutation of Pre-Tribulation Rapture to Heaven books and blogs, Google "Joe Ortiz Associates."

Dave MacPherson. What People are saying

What They Are Saying About ... THE RAPTURE PLOT!

Gary DeMar (President American Vision): "A majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth....The Rapture Plot is the never-before-told true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece of detective work." Robert H. Gundry (Professor Westmont College): "As usual MacPherson out hustles his opponents in research on primary sources. C. S. Lovett (President Personal Christianity): You don't read very much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher. Because his work has been so honest and open his latest work The Rapture Plot has produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers of our time. When their work is compared to his it is embarrassing for them to see how shallow their research is." R. J. Rushdoony (President Chalcedon): "Dave MacPherson has been responsible for major change in the eschatology of evangelical churches by his devastating studies of some of the central aspects thereof. In The Rapture Plot MacPherson tells us of the strange tale of 'rapture' writings, revisions, cover-ups, alterations and confusions. No one has equaled MacPherson in his research on the 'pretrib rapture.' Attempts to discredit his work have failed...."

About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and dignitaries.

Monday, November 09, 2015

(This book excerpt is found on pages 227-231 in my book The Rapture Plot, my most comprehensive work on pretrib rapturism's earliest development in the early 1800's. It's my summary of the book's highlights and takes the unusual form of an imaginary phone call from a dispensationalist, with a dash of humor thrown in. Incidentally, all of my book royalties have always gone not to me but to our nonprofit research group, a group that has never paid salary to myself or anyone else! You can obtain The Rapture Plot by calling 800.643.4645.)

The dispensationalist who non-literally phoned me in the chapter on Darby's early works phoned me again. He wanted me to boil down, in my "own words," the earliest pretrib development. Here's what was said:

Dispensationalist: Dave, can you boil down, in your own words, the earliest pretrib development?

Me: I'll be glad to.

Dispensationalist: My teachers have long said that the most important underlying "truth" which led to pretrib was the church/Israel "dichotomy," which means "separation."

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: I've gone through Darby's works up to and through 1830 and he doesn't have any dichotomy between the church and the Jews. In 1827 he had his "heavenly" theme, echoing Irving in 1825 and Lacunza in 1812, but no dichotomy. In 1828 he talked about "unity" the way Irving and Lacunza did, but again no dichotomy. In 1829 he expected only the Revelation 19 coming, following intermediate events, and saw no dichotomy during either the tribulation or a following millennium----all omitted by Huebner. Even if he'd had a millennial dichotomy, it wouldn't have been a support for pretrib. In December of 1830 he again expected only the Revelation 19 coming, which Huebner does admit. But Huebner again overlooks that this coming followed intermediate events and that Darby still didn't have a church/Israel dichotomy during the tribulation or anything else. It seems that Huebner, wishing to credit Darby, had read church/Israel dichotomy into church/Israel distinction----a distinction that the church had always seen prior to 1830.

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: And when I went through your chapter on Darby's reminiscences, I couldn't find him expressing a dichotomy even in his later, exaggerated memories. Memories 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 mention Isaiah 32. But my teachers, including Walvoord, say that Isaiah 32 isn't on "church" ground and that a pretrib rapture isn't found anywhere in the Old Testament. How can Isaiah 32 portray such a dichotomy if the "church" half of the dichotomy is missing? And Memories 2 and 7 say nothing about the Jews. Since his dichotomy was non-existent through December 1830----he saw both the church and Israel together on earth until the Revelation 19 coming----it appears that the only separation in Darby's early progress was the separation between Darby and the dichotomy!

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: Besides, the "truths" that reportedly evolved into pretrib were all held by Irving in 1825 in his preliminary discourse, or preface, to Lacunza and published in 1827. Only after Darby's "heavenly" (1827) and "unity" (1828)----which weren't original----do we see him in 1829 with some detailed development. Even if we give Irving's "truths" an 1827 date, 1827 is before 1829. And well-read Darby, fluent in several modern languages as well as ancient Biblical languages, knew about Irving's "truths." In his 1829 work, Darby expressed his familiarity with the ideas "throughout this preface" to Lacunza, quoted page 55 in it, summarized pages 55-65, and came close to Irving's "truths." For example, on page 53 Irving used "expectation" while holding to intermediate events and on page 67 he used the phrase "look daily for the coming"----even though Irving then expected only the Revelation 19 coming. Obviously Darby was influenced by Irving and by other earlier writers!

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: But not even the Irvingites derived pretrib from these "truths" which were theirs and not Darby's. Their first public pretrib teaching in September 1830----while Darby still defended posttrib three months later----was based on "Philadelphia" raptured and "Laodicea" left on earth, and not on the dichotomy or other "truths" that my teachers have credited Darby with. Only after pretrib was established did the Irvingites use the dichotomy for further support. Their first public pretrib was only a church/church dichotomy between "Philadelphia" and "Laodicea." Not until a year later did The Morning Watch see a tribulation primarily for "the Jews" and not "Laodicea"----a true church/Israel dichotomy explicitly separating church members and Jews and emphasizing the latter even though God wasn't supposed to be dealing again with the Jews until the vicinity of the final advent which was then about 36 years in the future! The Irvingites sure seemed to be unnecessarily and arbitrarily anti-Jewish, right?

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: Even Darby's first "understanding" in 1830, based on his 1850 memory, and his first "hint" of pretrib in 1834, based on his words at the time, weren't based on the church/Israel dichotomy. They were drawn from what seemed to be an order of events in the Thessalonian letters----"church" ground. Whereas Isaiah 32 didn't have the first half of the dichotomy, the Thessalonian epistles didn't clearly have the second half. So the underlying "truths" weren't used by either the Irvingites or Darby to either initially understand or initially teach pretrib. And even Darby used the dichotomy only after pretrib's arrival----as additional support.

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: And it seems that Darby was behind others in everything. He was defending posttrib three months after the Irvingites were clearly pretrib. He was behind others on even the so-called underlying "truths." His 1830 statement about the "Gentile parenthesis" was almost a duplicate of what William Davis of South Carolina wrote in 1811. And Lacunza (1812) and The Morning Watch (1829) also used "parenthesis." When Darby finally had clear pretrib teaching in 1839, his basis was the Revelation 12 "man child" symbol with support soon coming from I Corinthians 12's mystical "body"----but Irving's pretrib basis in 1831 was the same symbol with the same support!

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: If Darby really wasn't a year-day late and a British pound short, why have some individuals taken great pains to cover up pretrib in the Irvingites? Why did Kelly, with Darby's approval, fashion footnotes from Darby's much later writings and add them to Darby's early writings in order to "mature" him? And why, for the same purpose, did Kelly add bracketed insertions within Darby's text and even reveal in a footnote to Darby's 1830 work that he wasn't against "suppressing" and "changing" Darby's own words? Since Darby lived many more years after the revisionism of his own words had begun----revisionism less subtle than Darby had intended----why didn't Darby object? Did he think that no one would ever notice? And why has Kelly's massive and desperate revisionism between 1889 and 1903 been unobserved until now? If the most important thing is what the Bible teaches, Kelly should have stuck to Bible teaching and not engineered his clever distortions of the Irvingites and even fellow Brethren member Tregelles.

Maybe you should call this whole thing "Rapturegate" or refer to the Brethren "grinch" who stole the Irvingite "Christmas"!

Me: That's right.

Dispensationalist: Something else. My teachers admit that the most crucial underlying "truth" that supposedly led to pretrib was the church/Israel "dichotomy" which means "separation." And when will this separation take place? At the start of a future tribulation. By what means? The pretrib rapture. If the pretrib rapture itself is the separation between the church and the ones that my teachers call "Israel"----and it is----then the pretrib rapture itself is this "dichotomy"! It's like saying that "The pretrib rapture was the main truth that led to the pretrib rapture" or "The pretrib rapture sprang from itself"!

I know I've taken too much of your time. But I'm grateful for all of the enlightenment you've just given me during this phone call. Many thanks. Good-bye.

Me: Good-bye.

Well, it certainly was nice to get another phone call from that dispensationalist. If I'd known about him years ago, he could have written the present book and saved me a lot of time and trouble!

Dave MacPherson. What People are saying

What They Are
Saying About ... THE RAPTURE PLOT!

Gary DeMar (President American Vision): "A
majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be
raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to
about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever
taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a
journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth....The Rapture Plot is
the never-before-told true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle
document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece
of detective work." Robert H. Gundry (Professor Westmont College):
"As usual MacPherson out hustles his opponents in research on primary
sources. C. S. Lovett (President Personal Christianity): You don't read very
much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher.
Because his work has been so honest and open his latest work The Rapture Plot
has produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers
of our time. When their work is compared to his it is embarrassing for them to
see how shallow their research is." R. J. Rushdoony (President Chalcedon):
"Dave MacPherson has been responsible for major change in the eschatology
of evangelical churches by his devastating studies of some of the central
aspects thereof. In The Rapture Plot MacPherson tells us of the strange tale of
'rapture' writings, revisions, cover-ups, alterations and confusions. No one
has equaled MacPherson in his research on the 'pretrib rapture.' Attempts to
discredit his work have failed...."

About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English
descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His
calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as
a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and
dignitaries.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Are you aware that some major evangelical publishers have been trafficking in stolen items?

Before I load you up with brand-new details about a stunning development in this regard, I need to put this vehicle in reverse.

Surfers of non-pretrib sites may remember the "Deceiving and Being Deceived" article of mine. In it I included the names of many well-known pretrib authors who had been plagiarizing the writings of others, and also revealed the names of some evangelical publishers who'd been a party to such piracy.

But this shocking story really began in 1997. That was when I discovered that much of a 1990 book, Escape the Coming Night by David Jeremiah and C. C. Carlson, was a brazen plagiarism of Hal Lindsey's 1973 book There's A New World Coming. I can't recall which part of Escape made me suspicious and led me to do a thorough examination. It may have been the description of the 144,000 as "Jewish Billy Grahams"----an unforgettable phrase I knew Lindsey had used. (Originally published by Word Publishing, Escape had later been taken over by Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Bible and inspirational book publisher on earth.)

The year 1997 also found me working on a new book, one that came out the following year. After I ran across even more plagiarism in some influential evangelical publishers including Moody Press, I decided to confront them.

The first publisher contacted was Thomas Nelson in 1998. I chose to write to Mrs. Sam Moore, the wife of Sam Moore, Thomas Nelson's chairman and CEO. (At times it's easier to get the attention of a busy executive if a request or problem is addressed to his wife and marked "personal"!)

Mrs. Moore evidently turned the letter over to her husband because I soon received a letter from Thomas Elmlinger, associate counsel in Nelson's legal department, who asked me to send him evidence of plagiarism in Escape. After I sent him a stack of photocopies of marked pages in both books (Escape had massive plagiarism on 47 pages!), a November 2, 1998 letter from Elmlinger stated:

"Thank you for your letter of October 19 and the enclosed photocopy of the suspect portions of Escape the Coming Night. Word published this book in 1990, two years before Word became a part of Thomas Nelson. Obviously, we were unable to check every title that Word had published for possible problems.

"Nevertheless, we at Thomas Nelson are very concerned about this matter. Accordingly, we are destroying all our current inventory of this title and will not reprint the book.

"Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention."

During the next few years I sent many copies of this letter to Christian leaders and praised Thomas Nelson publicly for its honesty. And in my"Deceiving" article on numerous worldwide sites, I referred to Nelson as a "happy exception to publishing dishonesty" while discussing the thievery in Escape.

Well, clouds can suddenly blot out the sun. In mid-2001 I happened to spot the 1999 reprint of Escape the Coming Night which featured a totally different front cover. This was the first time I'd had a chance to see the new printing and I was wondering what it would look like minus the plagiarism that Elmlinger said would never again appear in that title.

However, I was amazed and dumbfounded upon finding out that ALL of the plagiarism was still in it and that the publishing of it hadn't missed a beat ever since Elmlinger's misleading letter in late 1998!

In addition, I noted that the title page listed the publisher as "Word Publishing" and called it "A Thomas Nelson Company"!

On August 31, 2001 I sent a letter to David Moberg, president of Word Publishing (which now calls itself W Publishing). I told him what I've just told you and added:

"How can a Thomas Nelson company continue to publish a dishonest book? Was your company informed of the plagiarism? If so, why is it still in the book? Thomas Elmlinger at Nelson reviewed the evidence I presented. If you would rather have the proof from me, I can send you a stack of photocopies of marked pages in your latest edition plus marked pages in the Hal Lindsey book that was plagiarized by Jeremiah and Carlson."

(HE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

A number of weeks later, on October 1st, I mailed the same questions to Mrs. Sam Moore.

(SHE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

Several weeks later, on October 23rd, I put the same questions to Mr. Elmlinger, the man who gave me a rapture runaround in 1998 while evidently planning all the while to cover up the continuation of dishonest promotion of the pretrib rapture view, a view easily lending itself to such practices simply because it's been riddled with dishonesty since its 1830 birth!

(HE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

Whenever ancient Israel failed to do right or deliberately did wrong, she brought terror upon herself----that is, she provoked the Lord which forced Him to allow men and even angels to terrorize her. In effect, she was her own terrorist, bringing terror upon herself.

Not all of the terrorists these days are in the Middle East or Afghanistan. In Western "Christian" countries there are those who terrorize millions of the unborn in "hospitals" and those who terrorize the already-born on highways. And also those who terrorize the born-again ones by promoting a latter-day end-time view that's already terrorized and killed unprepared millions in Russia, China, Korea etc. and promises to terrorize and kill many more unprepared and exploited millions.

If terrorists include those who aid and finance terrorism, then those who operate from publishing "caves" in Tennessee or Michigan or Oregon while secretly aiding literary thievery are actually Laodicean enemies in our midst who will force God to terroristically chasten all of us who continue to support such dishonesty----no matter how many flags we wrap ourselves in, and no matter how often we chant our superficial Americadabra slogans!

Dave MacPherson. What People are saying

What They Are
Saying About ... THE RAPTURE PLOT!

Gary DeMar (President American Vision): "A
majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be
raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to
about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever
taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a
journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth....The Rapture Plot is
the never-before-told true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle
document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece
of detective work." Robert H. Gundry (Professor Westmont College):
"As usual MacPherson out hustles his opponents in research on primary
sources. C. S. Lovett (President Personal Christianity): You don't read very
much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher.
Because his work has been so honest and open his latest work The Rapture Plot
has produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers
of our time. When their work is compared to his it is embarrassing for them to
see how shallow their research is." R. J. Rushdoony (President Chalcedon):
"Dave MacPherson has been responsible for major change in the eschatology
of evangelical churches by his devastating studies of some of the central
aspects thereof. In The Rapture Plot MacPherson tells us of the strange tale of
'rapture' writings, revisions, cover-ups, alterations and confusions. No one
has equaled MacPherson in his research on the 'pretrib rapture.' Attempts to
discredit his work have failed...."

About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English
descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His
calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as
a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and
dignitaries.

To learn more about the the books written by Joe Ortiz, and to access his web sites and blogs, please click on Joe Ortiz Associates

Friday, September 25, 2015

Yes, hypocrisy! Hypocrisy tied to pretrib rapture leaders as well as to the pretrib rapture view. (You can't believe how many "pretribbers" have told me over the years that they either have doubts about pretrib or don't even believe it----but they promote it anyway!)

Pretrib icon C. I. Scofield could be hypocritically double-minded. In a 1921 letter to his daughter Abigail, who had a financial need while then living in San Luis Obispo, California, he advised her to pray to a Catholic saint: "...why don't you seek the special intercession of the San Luis in whose name-town you live?" (This entire letter is in Joseph Canfield's classic work The Incredible Scofield and His Book published by Ross House Books.)

But a dozen years earlier in his Scofield Bible (p. 1346) he had begun predicting a future reign of "apostate Christendom, headed up under the Papacy"!

Many evangelicals are still unaware that during the 1980's Hal Lindsey proudly announced that two of his daughters, Robin and Jenny, were then enrolled at Gonzaga University, a Jesuit Catholic school. (The Jesuits were originally Catholicism's arm to terroristically infiltrate and destroy the growing Protestant Reformation.)

But years earlier Lindsey's There's A New World Coming (pp. 58, 103) stated, and continues to state, that the "dominant church" of the "Middle Ages" which "bound the people to image-worship, superstition, and priest craft" is the "prostituted form of Christianity" that will eventually become "the Antichrist of Rome"!

I still have a letter I received dated Nov. 14, 1971 and signed by a William T. Bruner. Here's the eye-catching part:

"I was brought up to be a strong Pre-Tribulationist. In fact I never even thought that the other view was worth inquiring into. When Dr. Bob Jones called me to teach in the Bob Jones College one of the first questions he asked me was, whether I held to this view, and of course I said Yes. But while I was professor of Greek New Testament at the Bob Jones University, 1949-1955, one of my colleagues, Robert Besancon, happened to ask me if I had ever read anything on the Post-Trib side. I had to confess that I never had. He recommended two little books by Horner. I read them and was truly astonished to find that the Post-Trib view is the simpler, more Scriptural, and more reasonable of the two. So I am now a Post-Tribulationist. Very interestingly, though, there was at that time on the BJU faculty a great scholar, Dr. Charles Brokenshire, who could teach 25 languages and every subject in the School of Religion. But he was a Post-Tribulationist. Dr. Jones considered him worth more than any other faculty member, perhaps worth more than all of us put together. During the school year 1954-55 Dr. Brokenshire died. After he died Dr. Jones went before his faculty meeting and announced that from that time on he would be true to his old-time promise to the Christians of America that he would strongly emphasize the Pre-Tribulation doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ and that he wanted all this teachers in the School of Religion to stand in favor of that doctrine!"

Well, it's apparent that the first Dr. Bob had been playing the role of hypocrite! (Dr. Roland Rasmussen, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Canoga Park, California, can verify the late Dr. Bruner's letter. As a BJU professor then, Rasmussen was at the same faculty meeting.)

Several years ago my wife and I found ourselves chatting on the BJU campus with one of its best-known profs. We were astounded when he admitted that even though that school publicly promotes pretrib, professors can privately hold to differing rapture views as long as they retain at least a premil outlook!

The year 1973 found me handing out post-trib literature on a Kansas City sidewalk to delegates going into the annual conference of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. It was easy for them to react by saying bluntly "We're pretrib!" and just as easy for me to say just as bluntly "Not only is pretrib not in the Bible, but it isn't in even your GARBC statement of faith!" After I widely aired their hypocrisy, they added pretrib wording to their official statement during a following conference so that their doctrine could finally begin practicing what the GARBC "doctors" had long been preaching!

A Dec. 31, 1983 letter written on Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God stationery by one of their profs, J. Bashford Bishop, contained these shocks:

"Thanks for the book. [I had given him my 1983 book The Great Rapture Hoax] I'll do what I can to circulate your book through our Assemblies of God [who], as you know, are opposed to Post-tribalism. Make a point of getting acquainted with Joseph Flower, our General Secy. at headquarters in Springfield. He and I were schoolmates and both of us were Post-trib then and ever since. He would be glad to discuss with you the subject----a real man of God."

We'd been doing research there in Springfield, Missouri that winter and soon enjoyed two hour-long chats with Flower, the No. 2 AG leader. Secretaries outside his open office door could easily hear everything discussed. I asked how he could hold to a non-approved rapture view. He replied that AG ministers are required to uphold pre-trib but privately can believe any other rapture view. When I remarked that such a rule encourages hypocrisy, Flower sheepishly agreed. Incidentally, those chats took place several years before any of the hypocrisy-filled scandals having to do with Bakker and Swaggart, two AG ministers!

What you've just read is a tiny fraction of the gigantic amount of pretrib dishonesty uncovered by my decades-long research. If you want the rest of pretribism's long-covered-up dirty linen , you can obtain my 300-page book The Rapture Plot by phoning 800.643.4645.
Speaking of books, you owe it to yourself to also obtain Joe Ortiz' two excellent books:

Gary DeMar (President American Vision): "A
majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be
raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to
about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever
taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a
journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth....The Rapture Plot is
the never-before-told true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle
document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece
of detective work." Robert H. Gundry (Professor Westmont College):
"As usual MacPherson out hustles his opponents in research on primary
sources. C. S. Lovett (President Personal Christianity): You don't read very
much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher.
Because his work has been so honest and open his latest work The Rapture Plot
has produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers
of our time. When their work is compared to his it is embarrassing for them to
see how shallow their research is." R. J. Rushdoony (President Chalcedon):
"Dave MacPherson has been responsible for major change in the eschatology
of evangelical churches by his devastating studies of some of the central
aspects thereof. In The Rapture Plot MacPherson tells us of the strange tale of
'rapture' writings, revisions, cover-ups, alterations and confusions. No one
has equaled MacPherson in his research on the 'pretrib rapture.' Attempts to
discredit his work have failed...."

About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English
descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His
calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as
a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and
dignitaries.

Friday, September 18, 2015

There is a tendency for even the most devoted disciples to fear they have no one who they can trust to help and comfort them during their passionate journey with Christ. Obviously the love, care and concern of our savior should be more than sufficient, especially for those who live by themselves and have very little contact with other like-minded humans to provide them what little love, affection and comfort at their disposal.

Many of those who have been chosen for a specific purpose by God realize that the life of a disciple and a prophet can be very lonely, especially those who do not have that special soul-mate in their life, much less a dedicated and committed husband or wife. Those who have been blessed with such a person in their life recognize how blessed they truly are. Those who do not have such a person in their personal lives know that they are at least fortunate enough to have close Christian friends and confidants on social media to fill some of that void.

Recently, as I was studying chapter 18 in the Book of Acts, verse 10 virtually jumped out at me and provided me with such great excitement, comfort and joy: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

God (on numerous occasions) has reassured me that He is always with me; however, His statement that He has much people in this city had never registered before. Most people who have few personal friends, loved ones and family close by depend on God’s faithfulness to address most of our needs, yet feel alone most of the time. Nowadays (especially as the birth pangs are increasing exponentially) they feel so alone that even their ministerial duties have slowly been decreasing, and their boldness in the word of God has been affected.

As knowledge is increasing (to a great extent based on the plethora of new information to be found on the Internet) many visionaries are gaining access to data that is helping many disciples to gain great insights into God’s word, especially by removing unorthodox doctrines (such as Rapture to Heaven, Israel First and Messianic dogma) that fly against the face of the true word of God.

As I followed the lead of the Holy Spirit with this matter, I turned to a classical theologian, Matthew Henry, to see His views about Acts 18:10. Here, Matthew Henry begins to recount the Apostle Paul’s journey in the Church of the Corinthians, and presents us with his observations:

“Many of the Corinthians, who were Gentiles (and some of them persons of bad character, as appears, 1 Co. 6:11, such were some of you), hearing, believed, and were baptized. First, they heard, for faith comes by hearing. Some perhaps came to hear Paul under some convictions of conscience that the way they were in was not right; but it is probable that the most came only for curiosity, because it was a new doctrine that was preached; but, hearing, they believed, by the power of God working upon them; and, believing, they were baptized, and so fixed for Christ, took upon them the profession of Christianity, and became entitled to the privileges of Christians. III. That Paul was encouraged by a vision to go on with his work at Corinth (v. 9): The Lord Jesus spoke to Paul in the night by a vision; when he was musing on his work, communing with his own heart upon his bed, and considering whether he should continue here or no, what method he should take here, and what probability there was of doing good, then Christ appeared very seasonably to him, and in the multitude of his thoughts within him delighted his soul with divine consolations.

1. He renewed his commission and charge to preach the gospel: "Be not afraid of the Jews; though they are very outrageous, and perhaps the more enraged by the conversion of the chief ruler of their synagogue. Be not afraid of the magistrates of the city, for they have no power against thee but what is given them from above. It is the cause of heaven thou art pleading, do it boldly. Be not afraid of their words, nor dismayed at their looks; but speak, and hold not thy peace; let slip no opportunity of speaking to them; cry aloud, spare not. Do not hold thy peace from speaking for fear of them, nor hold thy peace in speaking' (if I may so say); "do not speak shyly and with caution, but plainly and fully and with courage. Speak out; use all the liberty of spirit that becomes an ambassador for Christ.'

2. He assured him of his presence with him, which was sufficient to animate him, and put life and spirit into him: "Be not afraid, for I am with thee, to protect thee, and bear thee out, and to deliver thee from all thy fears; speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, to own what thou sayest, to work with thee, and to confirm the word by signs following.' The same promise that ratified the general commission (Mt. 28:19, 20), Lo I am with you always, is here repeated. Those that have Christ with them need not to fear, and ought not to shrink.

3. He gave him a warrant of protection to save him harmless: "No man shall set on thee to hurt thee; thou shalt be delivered out of the hands of wicked and unreasonable men and shalt not be driven hence, as thou wast from other places, by persecution.' He does not promise that no man should set on him (for the next news we hear is that he is set upon, and brought to the judgment-seat, v. 12), but, "No man shall set on thee to hurt thee; the remainder of their wrath shall be restrained; thou shalt not be beaten and imprisoned here, as thou wast at Philippi.' Paul met with coarser treatment at first than he did afterwards, and was now comforted according to the time wherein he had been afflicted. Trials shall not last always, Ps. 66:10-12. Or we may take it more generally: "No man shall set on thee, tou kakoµsai se-to do evil to thee; whatever trouble they may give thee, there is no real evil in it. They may kill thee, but they cannot hurt thee; for I am with thee,' Ps. 23:4; Isa. 41:10.

4. He gave him a prospect of success: "For I have much people in this city. Therefore no man shall prevail to obstruct thy work, therefore I will be with thee to own thy work, and therefore do thou go on vigorously and cheerfully in it; for there are many in this city that are to be effectually called by thy ministry, in whom thou shalt see of the travail of thy soul.' Laos esti moi polys-There is to me a great people here. The Lord knows those that are his, yea, and those that shall be his; for it is by his work upon them that they become his, and known unto him are all his works. "I have them, though they yet know me not, though yet they are let captive by Satan at his will; for the Father has given them to me, to be a seed to serve me; I have them written in the book of life; I have their names down, and of all that were given me I will lose none; I have them, for I am sure to have them;' whom he did predestined, those he called. In this city, though it be a very profane wicked city, full of impurity, and the more so for a temple of Venus there, to which there was a great resort, yet in this heap, that seems to be all chaff, there is wheat; in this ore, that seems to be all dross, there is gold. Let us not despair concerning any place, when even in Corinth Christ had much people. IV. That upon this encouragement he made a long stay there (v. 11): He continued at Corinth a year and six months, not to take his ease, but to follow his work, teaching the word of God among them; and, it being a city flocked to from all parts, he had opportunity there of preaching the gospel to strangers, and sending notice of it thence to other countries. He staid so long,

1. For the bringing in of those that were without. Christ had many people there, and by the power of his grace he could have had them all converted in one month or week, as at the first preaching of the gospel, when thousands were enclosed at one cast of the net; but God works variously. The people Christ has at Corinth must be called in by degrees, some by one sermon, others by another; we see not yet all things put under Christ. Let Christ's ministers go on in their duty, though their work be not done all at once; nay, though it be done but a little at a time, (Matthew Commentary on Acts 18:10).”

Praise God!Thank you Matthew Henry for your wisdom and insights into the word of God!

It’s easy to understand how many of us disciples can be worn down by the plethora of propaganda we are faced with on a daily basis; especially by those who are preaching about the impending New World Order, and the Secret Societies who are orchestrating their Satanic plot, as are those who dabble greatly with the paranormal anomalies such as Nephilim, UFO and Transnationalism, and even the Gay horde of emasculating demons that have been let loose in attempts to destroy the family unit as God intended from the beginning. While much of this immoral crusade has been launched and grows stronger each day, we are reminded that we are not alone and that God has many people in our respective cities that are fighting the same battles we are. They may not all be on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, but they are out there praying and actively exposing all of these sinister plots that are trying to destroy the church and turn our cities into brothels of the most decadent and vile lifestyles imaginable.

Remember! There are more of us out there than the myriad of demons on the loose, who know they will be losing this great battle, because we serve a faithful, forgiving and sustaining God, who deserves all the glory for who He is and what He accomplished on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ!

Joe Ortiz is the author of "The End Times Passover" and "Why Christians Will ,Suffer Great Tribulation" published by Author House. For information concerning his books and his other web sites and blogs, please click on Joe Ortiz

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The End Times Passover

Joe Ortiz has the distinction of being the first Mexican American in US history to conduct a talk show on an English-language, commercial radio station. He began his broadcasting career in 1971 at KABC TALK RADIO 790 AM in the highly competitive Los Angeles media market. He went on to become an award-winning broadcaster, news reporter and newspaper columnist in Los Angeles for over 30 years. Semi-retired, he promotes his three books on theology, is the President of the "Official Tom Flores Fan Club" and manages several blogs and web sites, and his public relations consulting company at Joe Ortiz Associates ~